Films I have seen since but too lazy to give detailed reviews for

Shutter Island

The unthinkable has just happened. Martin Scorsese has delivered a sub par film. Despite being visually striking, stylistic and filled with chilling moments this film ultimately suffers due to a plodding, meandering screenplay and a somewhat obvious plot twist.

3 Stars


Greenzone

Damon and Greengrass deliver another lean, fast paced thriller just like the Bourne films tapping into common public belief (This time concerning WMD) of corruption in high places and just like the Bourne films it uses the interesting plot devise where the protagonists and antagonists are on the same side. A film that explores the gray areas.

4 Stars

Invictus

Another strong film from director Clint Eastwood featuring stellar performances and sweeping cinematography.

4 Stars

Up In The Air



This film contains an sharp script and strong characterisation whilst exploring the fine balance between long term commitment and living life to the full. A film with no clear moral by the time the credits role, which allows viewers to interpret it in their own way.




4 Stars (This is beginning to get boring, yet another 4 star film)

Avatar


Although it contains overly blatant subtext and frequent cliches, Avatar succeed greatly at transforming you to such a richly detailed world of beauty and danger. The film feels like a journey, one where you truly forget that you are essentially watching CGI characters.


Everyone in the world apart from me has managed to miss the point of the film, its tell the story of a paraplegic ex-marine who through technological advances has been given another chance to prosper in life, who soon starts to question who he really is. It is essentially a ressurection story and more than just another 'good visuals/weak story' film.


4 Stars


Paranormal Activity


Although essentially a domesticated version of The Blair Witch Project, Paranormal Activity ultimately succeeds greater due to the viewers familiarity with the setting and the naturally paranoia that thing do go bump in the night. Impressive despite not being my cup of tea.


4 Stars

Fantastic Mr Fox

If you are reading this then you may have noticed that the Autumn has kicked in and the inevitable has happened, the trees are losing their leaves, the nights are drawing in and fantasy novel adaptations are being released at multiplexes worldwide. The latest in a wave of books to film adaptations is the Roald Dahl classic Fantastic Mr Fox, the question is whether Wes Anderson is capable of doing the source material justice!

Well the answer to that is yes and no. There are several things in this film that work and others that don’t resulting in a rather lukewarm hour and a half that doesn’t match up to other Dahl adaptations such as The Witches and Charlie and the chocolate factory (both versions). If there is a vital element missing from this film is that it just doesn’t capture the whole Roald Dahl atmosphere instead resorting to an overly contemporary manner in which the animal characters spend a little too much time bantering over minor things and using modern youth slang much in the style of a feel good drama/comedy giving it a sense of forced commercialism.

Another thing that doesn’t quite work was that most of the characters speak in American accents animals and humans alike and use American terminology despite the film having a British aesthetic and the three farmers all having British accent. Was this a deliberate clash of cultures or a genuine mistake on the film makers part. I genuinely can’t tell. Also worth mentioning is that George Clooney provides the voice of Mr Fox but it is blatantly George Clooney.

However there were certain plot elements that appealed to me, such as Mr Fox’s son Ash coping with life as an under achieving underdog who feels over shadowed by his too perfect cousin. Another interesting twist on this film version was by having the three farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean take the whole ‘catch the fox’ thing way too far by deploying their entire work force to catch the fox and even having a news crew cover the event on television. Also note worthy was the film’s impressive visuals and animation style which use various interesting techniques.

If this film appeals to you then I suggest viewing it for solid entertainment, just don’t expect fireworks.

3 STARS

About two thirds of the way through this film a woman who I don’t think was all there got up and turned to me and Aaron and asked us what the time was, “9.45” Aaron replied, then she slowly left, struggled to find the exit then eventually left. For the next ten minutes I was giggling.

Inglourious Basterds

Last night I decided to venture down to my local movie house to catch the latest from the always entertaining Quentin Tarantino. My thought like many other viewers concerning Tarantino is that his first two films, Reserviour Dogs and Pulp Fiction are undisputed masterpieces and that any later work by him doesn’t measure up but is decent none the less. Inglourious Basterds continues this trend.

The film follows two main story threads, firstly there is the story of Shosanna Dreyfuss (Melanie Laurent), hell bend on getting revenge on the Nazis for the murder of her family and secondly there is the story of the Basterds, a group of American soldiers lead by Lt Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt), hell bend on getting revenge on the Nazis for the shear hell of it. Gradually these two story intertwine with one another leading the way to a hugely spectacular and brilliantly edited climax (which is much in debt to the prom scene in Brian DePalma’s Carrie) in which a cinema full of Nazi’s is burnt down and even features Adolf Hitler himself being shot repeatedly in the face and then shot repeatedly some more until his face is in pieces.

Rest assured Tarantino doesn’t skimp on his trademark violence, in fact this is probably his most violent yet. We get to see Nazi symbols carved into people’s face with knives, fists being shoved down throats, people wincing majorly at gun wounds and even Nazis being scalped right down to the brain. This is true ultra violence that may make even the most hardened viewer cringe.

There is no denying it, this film portrays the Nazi as caricature villains. However Tarantino also find room to create sympathy for Nazis. One scene has Eli Roth beating a Nazi to death in a flamboyant manner with a baseball bat whilst another Nazi watches in horror knowing that he will die next. We also feel Nazi sympathy for German war hero Frederick Zoller (Daniel Bruhl) who must forever live with the Nazi Stigma.

From a performance point of view the cast here is pretty strong. Brad Pitt and Eli Roth play their roles with the perfect balance of malice and humour although throughout the film there is no stand out performance. Tarantino once again recycles music from his favourite artists and effectively incorporates them into this film. One musical moment that stuck out was at the beginning in which a farmer is hiding Jews under his floorboards and a Nazi General comes to question him, then after a while he realises they are hidden under the floor. At this point the intense music starts up and a squad of Nazi troops come in with guns blazing and annihilate the Jews.

However despite all that was good about this film there was one major issue I had with it, which is as follows: In previous Tarantino film one of the impressive aspects was the chemistry between the actors as they discuss various aspect of culture (remember the quarter pounder with cheese). This was always a highlight however in this film they devote too much time to having formal conversation or discuss pompous French cinema and they also natter on for far too long. I feel that Tarantino is just retreading old ground albeit in a different genre, I also feel he is running out of things for his characters to discuss. This therefore make it one of the weaker entries in the Tarantino cannon.

None the less I would recommend Inglourious Basterds for all it has to offer and if you’re a fan of Tarantino’s work then it is a great way to kill 2 hours. Light years behind Reseviour Dogs and Pulp Fiction, not as good as Death Proof or Kill Bill and about as good as Jackie Brown.

4 STARS

Moon

The third and final film I went to see whilst in The States was Moon. The problem was however that when I went to see it I was absolutely knackered and drowsy whilst watching it due to all the great stuff I had done over the days leading up to it so therefore I failed to fully take it in. I remember very little about the film’s plot so it best you don’t take my views on this film seriously. None the less I must review every single film I see at the cinema no matter what.

So what can I say? The cinematography was impressive, it was beautifully shot and well directed, had some good ideas and plenty of intrigue. It felt a bit cliché like I had seen everything already in 2001: A Space Oddysey, Alien and Sunshine. However it was good to see a film released in summer that had brain.

I get the impression that science fiction may well be making a comeback with this film as well as James Cameron’s Avatar and Chris Nolan’s Inception. Fingers crossed.

That’s all I can say in my shortest review ever. It seemed pretty good so I’ll give it a good grade and I must remember to watch it properly when it comes out on DVD.

4 STARS

Up

For the past 5 weeks I have had the good fortune to be in America. From New York to Chicago, onto Los Angeles and back to New York. It was absolutely amazing and the best time I’ve had in my life however it was also exhausting. Fortunately I was able to find down time with my visits to the cinemas of time square. I took this opportunity to see Pixar’s latest, Up, a film not yet released here in the UK, so this was a perfect chance to see it before anyone else back home.

The film start out with a moving montage that tells the story of Carl Frederickson has he experiences all the peaks and troths that one must face throughout life. Following this the bulk of the film focuses on Carl as an elderly man forced to relocated from his own home to and old people’s home. Carl doesn’t like this and ties balloons to his house and flies off on a journey to fulfil his dreams of living in South America. However 8 yr old Russell accidently stows away on board his house and so begins the adventure.

Thankfully I can say that Pixar have yet again produced a well written, funny, heart warming tale that all audiences can enjoy. I think one of the key themes to this film is the strained relationship between Carl and Russell. Carl, who never had a son or daughter and is mourning the loss of his wife just wants to get away from everything. Russell on the other hand never had a father figure but sees it in Carl but has trouble being like by him due to his rather flamboyant nature.

A key theme in this film is age and how certain age groups are frowned upon in the modern society. Like Gran Torino earlier this year the film deals with how old age pensioners are looked down on by the rest of society and are assumed to be hopeless.

The humour in this film is also impressive, particularly the scenes involving talking dogs (dogs with collars that translate what they are thinking into word). These scenes account for many of the films belly laugh. One such incident involves a dog which is supposed to be sinister and evil but speaks in a very camp voice due to a malfunctioning voice translator.

Worth noting however is that this is the first Pixar film to be presented in 3D and unlike Bolt which I saw earlier this year the 3D adds a considerable dimension to the animation. The animation happens to absolutely stunning whether in 3D or not.

Overall Up is an impressive film. See it when it is released in the UK.

4 STARS

Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince

Throughout this decade that only some refer to as the ‘noughties’ we have watch the hugely popular Harry Potter film series grow and mature along with the films young cast themselves. Now here we have the 6th and penultimate film (not taking into account that the 7th book shall be two films) and it seems like things have come a long way.

That’s right, it seems like hardly any time ago that we watched an 11 year old Harry first walk through the gates of Hogwarts and now here we are at the final stretch of the saga and walking into considerable darker territory, a tale of murder and betrayal one would not necessarily associate with a franchise were the fan base are predominantly children (or adults who grew up with the franchise).

Rest assured when I say this is the most adult of all the Potter films I really mean it. There is a sense of constant threat that runs through the film where as a viewer you get the sense that the wizarding world has truly hit hard time. This is largely thanks to David Yates confident and dynamic direction where he creates a wholly immersive world where our lead characters can operate in.

The acting here is also the best in the series so far. The lead trio have amazing chemistry as well as some of the supporting child cast. Alan Rickman, Michael Gambon and Jim Broadbent as professor Horace Slughorn also have plenty to work with. Best of all however is that Draco Malfoy has been given an expanded role, especially good considering for the past two films Malfoy has done next to nothing. Also good to see is how he has drastically changed as a character, he has become more conflicted under the pressure of his task in hand whereas in the earlier films he was the typical school bully/spoilt brat.

One thing that came to my attention when watching this film however was that it was somewhat of a statement of substance abuse, which is a common theme one might associate with youths. There are numerous example of this e.g when Harry finds the potions book belonging to the half blood prince he keeps using it to enhance his performance in class even if it does end up causing him to ultimately go overboard. This is a strong reflection on people who use performance enhancing steroids. Another scene has him taking a good luck potion and then acting ‘high’ for the next ten or so minutes of the film. Other scenes include Ron Weasley foaming at the moth after taking a lethal combination of potions and Dumbledore being forced to drink an entire basin of lethal fluid.

This brings me to the climax of the film, skip this paragraph to avoid spoiler. The death of Dumbledore is mostly handled well. The scene that stood out for me was where his corpse is lying on the grounds of Hogwarts and the students and staff are all crowded around him raising their wands out of respect. The only issue I had was that the betrayal of Snape is so undercooked. In the book the betrayal aspect is treated as a major incident. Unfortunately here it is assumed everyone has read the book and there is no need to re-establish it for those who haven’t.

Overall I feel that the makers of the Potter film franchise have delivered another decent blockbuster. One that fall only slightly short of The Prisoner Of Azkaban and The Goblet Of Fire. All I can say now is Bring On The Deathly Hallows.

4 STARS

Public Enemies

Phew! What a relief! Here we are midway through summer blockbuster season, we’ve been treated to a series of third rate franchise cash ins, overloaded with CGI, watched Transformers gross enough to fix the world wide economy and worse of all this blog has recently making me look like a nerdy fan boy. Now finally after a string of disappointment (not Star Trek that was awesome) we are finally treated to a thrilling taut crime drama.

Director Michael Mann, the guy who brought us the awesome ‘Heat’ back in 1995 returns with this, the real life story of 1930’s gangster John Dillinger (Johnny Deep) and how he travelled across the United States on a wild crime spree robbing banks. It is also the story of how the FBI set up a fine team of operatives led by special agent Melvis Purvis (Christian Bale) to hunt down Dillinger and his associates.

Naturally we are treated to a series of suspense filled and wholly satisfying series of confrontations, each gun fight as pleasing as the last. This is one thing that Michael Mann achieves with great panache using gritty style cinematography, perfectly paced editing and effective use of sound much like he did in Heat.

This film is a masterstroke in fine directing techniques (although some might debate that) very few film can achieve the sense of sustained menace that Mann achieves when on top form. This is demonstrated in a number of sequences throughout, whether it is Dillinger’s escape from Indiana State Prison or the ensuing scene in which Dillinger and his associates are sat in a packed movie house when a news real suddenly appears onscreen with a ‘Wanted: John Dillinger Public Enemy No 1’ in big letters. It is at this point that Dillinger shuddered with fear yet at the same time manages to maintain his posture. Suddenly a light on the ceiling switches on and the audience are informed “He may be sitting in this very theatre! Look to your left! Look to your Right!” The audience follow these instruction and it is only by the grace of god that Dillinger is sat between two associates and no public member notices. The lights go off, the news reel resumes and the panic is over. This is possibly one of the finest moments and any crime drama ever made.

Mann has also successfully captures the 1930’s era in which the film is set with an impressive attention to perfect detail you’ll be hard pressed to find any inaccuracy to how this decade is portrayed in screen. Ironically Mann has managed to make this film feel modern and found the perfect balance between this era and the 30’s era similar to what Roman Polanski done with Chinatown in 1975 whereas most other period set films have a sense of nostalgic haze to them. One way Mann achieves this is through the use of High Def digital camera as opposed to traditional celluloid and create a film that is visually stunning as much as it is suspenseful. Take note that this film is also very dark in terms of cinematography very much akin to The Godfather.

This film also boasts several impressive performances. Johnny Depp delivers a mostly charismatic Dillinger and creates a character who the audience can sympathise with every time he gets into danger. In all honesty Depp is perhaps not as strong as he could have been and is considerably better in other roles he has played throughout his hugely successful career. Perhaps more interesting is the support character Melvin Purvis (who was the real life inspiration of many fictional detectives) played by Bale. Despite learning little about Purvis’ own life Bale succeed in creating a fully human role injecting the character with a conflicted nature and sense of guilt and responsibility for all the blood that has been spilt and the savage nature of his job. One scene has him and an associate going into a hospital and forcing a wounded screaming gang member to talk yet with the look on his face that his job is barbaric.

The rest of the cast perform well too, including Marion Cottilard as Billie Frechette, Dillinger’s love interest, Billy Crudup as a believable J Edgar Hoover and Stephen Graham as a Joe Pesci like Baby Face Nelson.

There is one issue with the film however, at times, especially in the first half the script lacks focus and is often drowned out by the films technical ingenuity. This lead to the film being somewhat un engaging from time to time and prevents the it from being the stone cold classic it could have been.

Overall However Public Enemies is a wholly satisfying experience and a refreshing departure from the typical summer movie. If you enjoy taut, suspenseful crime thrillers then this is a must for you. This film will however split opinions of serious film buff as to whether its genius or piss poor, but I guess its down to matter of opinion.

4 STARS